3 Ways to Improve Your Marketing Through Online Content
Last week, we ended the year with some advice on how to improve your online presence in 2016. Central to that is writing. Client-focused legal writing will help you develop expertise in your field, differentiate your practice from others, and garner a wider audience of potential clients online.
Creating valuable online content isn't as simple as just sitting down and typing away, but it's also not brain surgery either. Here are three ways to improve your online content without taking on a second job as a legal blogger.
1. Write, Write, Write
We've said it before and we'll say it again (and again and again): lawyers should write and not just for their clients or courts. Writing is a great way to promote yourself, your knowledge, and your work. And since much of legal practice is already about the written arts, you're already pretty much an expert. You simply need to repackage your legal knowledge for an audience of potential clients.
There are plenty of platforms for getting your voice out there, too. Of course, putting content online is a great way to start, whether it's on your website, blog, or social media. But you can also pursue more traditional forums, from hundreds of industry-specific periodicals to simple letters to the editor and op-eds.
2. One Piece Can Be Used Multiple Ways
When it comes to online content, it's not a one-and-done deal. There are many ways to make use of the same piece. If you've published an op-ed, for example, share it on your blog and on Facebook. An informative blog post can be turned into a series of tweets and a feature on your LinkedIn profile. Cross-posting in this way allows you to use a single work to reach a larger audience over a variety of platforms.
3. Take Content Seriously
Remember, online writing is about marketing yourself for the Internet age. It's not simply a hobby that you can come to when you have a spare moment or two. Using online content effectively requires discipline and organization. You should commit to producing a certain amount of writing within a period -- a tweet a day or a blog post a week, for example -- and stick to your plan.
And of course, if you'd rather someone else handle the marketing, there's always the experts at FindLaw's Lawyer Marketing.
Related Resources:
- Most Lawyers Suck At Online Marketing (Above the Law)
- 5 Tips to Improve Your Legal Writing (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Federal Judge Stops Blogging (Again). Should You? (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Don't Overlook Your Most Valuable Asset: Your Law Firm Brand (FindLaw's Strategist)